Drip irrigation bears fruits: Ngwenya's story

Ngwenya smiles as she proudly shows her new deep well standing with her are 3 of her children

Ngwenya from Mkobokwe village in Zhombe district in Zimbabwe thought her life had come to a standstill when her husband died in 1996. An unemployed widow then, with no source of income and two children aged below 10 years to look after.

In 1999 two of her close family members also passed away, leaving their four children in her care.

Ngwenya remembers when four of the children used to ask her for school fees all at once. She had no idea where to get the money.

In 2001 and 2002 Zimbawe was hit by successive droughts and Ngwenya struggled to feed the children. Food shortages were more severe in Zhombe district as this region is characterised by a poor rainfall pattern.

In May 2003 she was among the 25 households identified by the community in the village to take part in a drip irrigation project. The project aimed at mitigating food insecurity and increasing family income. The selection for the beneficiaries of the project was based on needs and ability, and special focus was paid to orphans, child headed households and poor families affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Plan Zimbabwe in collaboration with the Linkages for the Economic Advancement of the Disadvantaged (LEAD) programme organised the drip irrigation training session for the identified households. The training covered site selection for the drip garden, land preparation, installation of the kits, repairs and maintenance, record keeping, budgeting, marketing, use of natural pesticides and nutrition.

Ngwenya participated in the training course and each of the group members received a drip irrigation kit. The kit consisted of an 85-litre tank, with tubes fitted to it that slowly supply water directly to the plants. Little did she know that this was the turning point in her life.

Soon after the training, Ngwenya used her newly acquired skills to start a garden project that has since flourished into one of the most successful small-scale business ventures in the area.

“I used to look down at the drip kit and think that I could not make a living from it,” she said.

Ngwenya prepating to deliver yet another supply of vegetables for the market

She now grows a variety of vegetables, including green pepper, lettuce, garlic, onion, rape and green ‘mealie’.

Using the proceeds from selling her garden produce, she managed to purchase and finance the building of a deep well, bought some chickens for rearing and ploughed back the rest of the money into her garden project.

Ngwenya has secured a market for her garden produce through a large supermarket in the nearby Kwekwe town, a deal normally clinched by large-scale commercial farmers.

“In October, I delivered 20.5 Kilos of green peppers and 25 heads of lettuce to the supermarket and they want more.

“I am now financially independent. I can afford to feed, cloth and pay school fees for my 6 children,” she says smiling.

Ngwenya and other beneficiaries of the project in her village have since formed a cooperative and started other community projects using proceeds from their gardens.

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